CypherCaster Magazine - Issue 006 (May 2016)

The sixth issue of the CypherCaster Magazine, our extra-sized first anniversary issue, includes:

MCG Product Preview - Summer 2016, Focus on the upcoming Gods of the Fall with an excerpt of fiction by Bruce R. Cordell and our review of the new Divine Dominion mechanic.

The latest Streets of Qi, by Chris Fitzgerald, looks at Miranda's House, a boarding house in Qi full of interesting NPCs.

Sector Agents, a pulpy space setting featuring law agents of the Galactic Union. Many contributors present this twenty page section with setting information, alien species, a location, and two complete missions!

Hacking the Cypher System: Vehicles with Character by Marc Plourde. An article how to build ships that reflect the type of character building that the Cypher System usually reserves for player characters. (A great companion piece to the Sector Agents material).

Field Mission, a short Strange fiction by Andrew Cady about the Estate seeking to stop a cult from opening a dangerous portal.

Across the Seas of Zuòmèng: To Climates Unknown, part 2 of our Zuòmèng Strange recursion. This part is a full adventure set in the world of Zuòmèng, by Rustin Coones, Scott Robinson, & Jennifer Ross.

An interview with MCG's new Community Relations Coordinator, Sean K. Reynolds

The action-packed painted cover art by Yannick Bouchard ties into the fiction that starts the extended feature, Sector Agents.

Sector Agent Species. I just got this for a quick read of the species. I have been working on a lot of Star Wars conversions lately. I noticed a few things that seem odd, and don't quite mesh with what is in the Cypher System.
1. Different natural armor rules for each species. Cypher System says armor bonuses stack. I would simply say something like the pangolin species can't wear armor for eg, rather than different rules for each species.
2. Features. A lot of the listed abilities should actually be 'Skills', as per other Descriptors. I understand wanting to name all features (I would have preferred the CS to do that). But they should be Skills. More importantly, they should state that they are trained in the feature, rather than stating "tasks are 1 step lower". That would mean it stacks ON TOP of being skilled, assets and Effort. Alternatively, things like the Shardfolk's claws could be assets (as opposed to training). (I have tweeted MCGs on such features and they suggested things like...See more this = assets. Makes sense too. It would be odd for a Shardfolk to pick up shovels to get the asset bonus on top of that all-encompassing bonus you have of just lowering by 1 step).
3. Inabilities. Like Skills, the heading for these should be "Inability" then the description. (Though again, I know why you went this way. I prefer features to have their own name, but in CS core they don't for features that increase difficulty 1 step - they are just Inabilities.

It can be a little simplistic for Species to = Descriptor too. I know the core operates this way, but it is a pity, as only humans choose the great variety of descriptors and all species get the same :( This did not seem right for our Star Wars game. It might have been useful to include a 'Combining Descriptor with Species' option for such a setting. If interested, I have done such a thing here: http://connorscampaigns.wikidot.com/cypher-house-rules

Pleased for people to give it a go, but again, it would require separating named abilities from skills. I am actually keen to offer some sobmissions to this very good mag I just discovered, as our own imprint is having trouble with layout, etc. But all for another place. I will visit site.

Just wanted to point out this mag looks great and I am keen for more (and to contribute).

I really love this magazine and there's a ton more to love with this release. You can read a more complete summary of my thoughts here. The Sector Agents and the tools they give you to run it as wel [...]

The CypherCaster has been a solid magazine from the start, with a sprinkling of exlusive news and heaping piles of great fiction, adventures, art, GM advice, hacks, and more. This issue more than any, though, knocks it out of the park with 60 beautiful [...]

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